Tipping the Prius when changing the oil. WITH VIDEO!

Yes I saw similar posts and also tip my car a bit at the end of draining. It does start to flow again in a fine stream as seen in the video but soon turns into drips again. So it is probably not a huge difference but if it makes you feel good then sure do it. Have fun!

 

...and I thought I was OCD.
Thanks for the tip.

 

I do the same thing when I change the gear oil in the rear axle of my FJ. Almost half a quart more drains out by jacking up the driver side of the rear axle

Of course, the drain plug isn't on the bottom but offset quite a bit

 

There is a good amount left.

When you say the left side, are you facing the front of the Prius or are you inside the car?

 

Was that oil hot when you drained it?

 

Since the drain hole is on the passenger side of the car, it would make sense to elevate the driver's side if you are concerned about getting the last few ounces of old oil out of the crankcase.

 

I also suggest squeezing the car like a sponge.
;-)

 

Yep I've noticed this as well, only here the LHS is the passenger side.

Personally though I don't worry all that much about getting all the old oil out. What ever comes out in the 5 minutes or so while I'm replacing the filter is ok by me. The oil that I'm draining usually looks in good condition anyway, so I'm sure that as long as I'm still getting about 95% fresh oil in there it's all going to be fine for standard oil change interval.

 

So which side it will be on the right-hand drive vehicle?
Is the engine mounted the same way?

Thanks.

 

Being as this post is 9 years old and the OP has not logged in for 5 1/2 years I doubt he is going to answer.

 

Which way to tip it is logical but I can't remember on my old Gen 2. Try it both ways and see what works best if nothing else.

I am going to try extracting the oil through my dipstick here in a couple of weeks and when I am done see how much comes out of the drain plug. Draining through the dipstick is very controversial.

 

Generally the side of the car the engine is in does not change between right and left hand drive. In the USA the engine is on the left side of the car if your standing at the front of the car looking toward the rear of the car. They actually had to adapt the car to left hand drive as Japan is also a right hand drive country. It felt weird to me when I was in Japan. I kept getting into the drivers side for my country.

 

I vote for having a spare oil pan. That way you can remove it and put on a clean one and then refill. Clean the leftover oil out of the dirty oil pan so it's ready for the next absolutely perfect oil change.

Oops! There's still some old oil on the head, in the bearings, and in other places. I guess it really calls for a total disassembly of the engine.

Or, you could just change the oil. That works quite well.

 

After draining the oil and tipping the car, (make sure to do left/right as well as front/back) I would think the next step is to remove the dipstick and blow warm air in to make sure and get the last few drops to come out. Make sure and use air that has been dehumidified.

Of course, this is a joke. If you are really concerned about those last drops of oil, why not just change your oil a few miles sooner?

Mike

 

The drain bolt is at the rear edge of the pan, so I think if you've raised the front only (typical DIY oil change) you've got a good positive flow, will get as much oil drained as practical. I'll typically change ours in the late afternoon, after coming back from a shopping trip, engine warmed. I'll get it draining, then go in and have dinner, let it drip.

 

Maybe next oil change I'll try playing my heat gun on the oil pan towards the end of the drain, see if that gets a bit more.

 

Here's pictures of my 07 motor bought new. Changed every 5,000 miles with new OEM filter and no tipping and no waiting extended periods for dripping.
I wait about 3 minutes for the pan to dump. Car now has 130,000 miles. Life of M1 & last 50,000 miles on Redline 5-30 oil which at engine temp is actually a 40 weight. Fixed my very minor oil eating.
Never dealer changed.

Its all about the quality of the oil used not the little bit left behind which is really more than a little bit as there's lots of oil in the VVT actuator vane in the head and the oil galley for the VVT filter. Image 3174 shows the VVT actuator at the end of the intake cam. Its full of oil.
Plus as you can see there's lots of oil just sticking to the engine and accumulated in various voids that you will never get out. These pictures are after the car sat all night I just took the cover off never touched the head. Kinda makes the tipping moot. Like most car engines.